Violin.



I'. 0. FISH.

VIOLIN.

APBLIUATION FILED 11110.20,

Patented Nov. 9, 1909.

'UNTTED sTATns PATENT ormcn.

FRED O. FISH, OF WINCHESTER, MASSACHUSETTS.

VIOLIN.

To all whom 'it may concern'.

Be it known that I, FRED O. FISH, a citi- Zen of the United States, residing at Winchester, in the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Violins; and l do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and eXact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

The present invention relates to violins and has for its object to provide an im* proved means for guiding the ngers of the player in stopping the strings.

The invention contemplates the provision of projections on the finger-board spaced to guide .the fingers of the player to the correct positions on the finger-board and located between the stopping` positions and out of the path of movement of the strings while being depressed against the board. By locating the projections out of the path of movement of the strings, the strings are not brought into engagement therewith and the strings are stopped by the fingers of the player in the same manner as when a plain finger-board is used. By locating the projections between the stopping positions spaces are formed into which the fingers can be placed without pressing upon the projections so that no objectionable pressure is eX- erted upon the finger tips, so long as the fingers are manipulated to stop the strings in tune, a pressure on a linger tip indicating that the finger should be moved either up or down on the finger board. The projections indicate the proper positions for the fingers and also allow the fingers to be moved slightly while in engagement with the strings so that the pitch of the notes can be slightly raised or lowered if necessary to enable the instrument to be played in perfect tune.

The projections may be of any suitable shape and height, but are preferably of a height to guide the fingers of the player in stopping the strings without interfering with the shifting of the fingers up or down on the finger-board while in engagement with the strings. The projections may be made integral with the finger-board or may be separate therefrom and secured thereto in any desired manner. Preferably, however, the projections are formed upon a sheet of material adapted to be secured by glue Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed December 20, 1905.

Patented Nov. 9, 1909.

Serial No. 292,535.

or any suitable cement to the fingerboard beneath the strings, as when the projections are formed upon a sheet of material, the invention can be readily. applied to an instrument without altering the instrument or removing any of its parts, with the possible exception of the strings. The material which has given satisfactory results in actual practice is Celluloid, the sheet being so thin that when placed on the finger-board it does not appreciably decrease the space between the board and the strings.

The invention will be found to be particularly useful to beginners, and another advantage of forming the projections on a sheet of material is that the sheet can be readily removed without injury to the instrument when the pupil has advanced sufficiently to stop the strings intune on a plain board.

The invention will be clearly understood from an inspection of the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a perspective view of a portion of a violin embodying the same in its preferred form; Fig. 2 is a separate plan view of the sheet of material provided with guiding projections, before it is secured to the finger-board; Fig. 3 is a cross sectional view of the sheet of material illustrated in Fig. 4l, taken on the line 3 3; and Fig. 4 is a cross sectional view of the violin illustrated in Fig. l, taken on the line 41E-t.

In Fig. lthe neck of the violin is indicated at l and the finger-board at 2. The four strings are indicated at E, A, D and Gn To the finger-board is secured by glue or any suitable cement a thin sheet of Celluloid 8, provided with projections fl. rlhese projections are arranged in three longitudinal rows which are located between the strings as indicated in Fig. 4, so that the projections are out of the path of movement of the strings when pressed down upon the finger-board and are not engaged thereby. The projections in each row are spaced a semi-tone apart, and are so arranged that the fingers of the playerI pass down between the projections in stopping the strings. rFhus to play B on the A string, the player presses his finger down into the space formed between the two lowermost projec- I tions in the row between the E and the A strings, and the two lowermost projections in the row between the A and the D strings. The next space formed by CTT the projections in these two rows gives C on the A string, and the space between the two lowermost projections in these rows and the nut at the lower end of the finger-hoard gives B flat.

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated but three longitudinal rows of projections are provided, as it has been found that the two outside rows of projections are sufficient to forni guides for the fingers in stopping the E and the G strings.

The projections elguide the fingers of the player accurately to the proper positions on the finger-hoard, but permit the fingers to he moved slightly while in engagement with the strings to raise or lower the note as may be necessary to play in perfect tune. The projections also allow the fingers to be shifted up or down on the finger-board while in engagement with the strings, so that the player can shift from one position to another in the same manner as when an instru.- nient having a plain fingei'hoaid is used. The application of the projections to the finger-board does not impair the tone of the instrument, and while the fingers of the player are accurately guided to thecorrect positions on the finger-hoard the instrument can be played in precisely the saine manner as the ordinary instruineiit.

The nature and scope of the present invention having been indicated, and the preferred forni of the invention having been specifically described what is claimed is:-

l. A violin having a finger hoard provided with guiding' projections located lietween the strings, shaped and arranged to leave free spaces atthe stopping position to permit the vlingers to be shifted slightly, the surface of the finger hoard, except for such projections, being smooth and even.

2. An attachment for a violin consisting oil a sheet of material adapted to he secured to an ordinary finger board beneath the strings and provided with guiding projections, shaped and arranged to extend lietween the strings and leave free spaces at the stopping positions to receive the fingers of the player and to perinit the fingers to la shifted slightly.

In testimony whereof' l allix niy signature, in presence o'f two witnesses.

FRED 0. FISH. lVitnesses FARNUM F. Density, ANNIE G. HoL'r. 

